Goal – Plan – Execute – Focus

Managing the various demands of life is a difficult task for anyone. Finding the time to fit all interests into the 24 hours given each day. Time is precious resource. Once used or wasted, it is never given back.

Between school, sports, family and friends/hobbies this is a huge challenge. Not having balance can lead to underperformance in one area as you excel elsewhere. Where there is not secret to mastering time management, there are some strategies that can help:

Define Your Goal

Think of GPS. You enter the end destination and the steps to get there are laid out. Without the end you would be wandering around looking for nothing. Same here – define what you want to achieve first and base your actions there. Do you want to play sports in college? Make the varsity team? Be the next Fortnite champion? Play for fun with friends? Whatever it is make it clear what the goal is.

Prioritize to get there

These are your directions to get to the end goal. What directions do you need to get from where you are today to where you want to go. If the goal is to play college sports, training and school are your top priorities. Everything else is secondary or not an option. You also want to identify where the time needs to go. If you are a great science student but suck at math, more time should be allocated to math while you maintain science. Same in sport, if you are a great shooter but can’t run or skate. You get the idea. Set your priorities based on the end goal

Cut out the excess

Now you have the destination and the steps laid out. Cut out the wasted time. Strip your day of the activities that aren’t bringing you close to your goal. Playing fortnight and watching Netflix aren’t going to improve your chances of playing lacrosse in college. Or get better grades. Back up your mouth. Speak through your actions. Having time to reset is important, but these are secondary actions. If you are complaining about not having time, really look at what you are doing. I guarantee you can find 2-3 hours each day that are being wasted on mindless tasks.

Don’t compromise for short term gains

Be focused and disciplined. Don’t compromise the long term goal for short term satisfaction. Hanging out with friends all weekend for the entire summer might be good at the time, but when you get back into the season and you are behind the 8 ball, it’s not going to feel good. I am not saying don’t have friends, but be true to what you want. It’s not a sacrifice, it is a decision. You want the big dream, make the big decision. If you don’t want it, that’s fine – just don’t complain

Managing time is hard, but by having a clear definition of what you want and how to get there you eliminate the noise that fills the time. Replace that wasted space with action and you will be surprised at how much you can accomplish